a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to vehicle lighting systems, and, more particularly, to a concealed vehicle center high mount stop lamp (CHMSL).
b. Description of Related Art
Vehicle center high mount stop lamps (CHMSLs) are well known in the art and are typically used in a variety of vehicles for providing a secondary means of warning or signaling when a vehicle's brakes are applied or when a vehicle's lights are turned on. Typically a CHMSL is mounted at or behind the vehicle rear window, and can be mounted at a variety of other locations, such as on the rear of the vehicle trunk, or in case of SUVs, CUVs and vans, on top of the lift gate.
For such CHMSLs mounted on the rear of the vehicle trunk or on top of the lift gate, the recessed area for the CHMSL cannot be stamped in the vehicle body panel because metal stamping operations providing the necessary depth would wrinkle, tear and/or damage the body panel. Thus, it becomes necessary to weld a separate metal pocket to a hole cut in the body panel to provide the recessed area for the CHMSL. However, the separate metal pocket causes variations in the welding process, variations in the alignment tooling for holding the pocket to the body panel and variations in the actual pocket itself. These variations can result in a poorly fitted CHMSL light assembly in the body panel. Further, the connection point between the pocket and the body panel has to be sealed. Thus, the requirement for a pocket increases the vehicle part count, assembly time, and can potentially create leaks. Yet further, for trunk or lift gate mounted CHMSLs, a separate piece of CHMSL light breaks the vehicle rear styling line and color scheme.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a vehicle concealed illuminated CHMSL, which is economical to manufacture, install and service, as compared to existing pocket-based CHMSL designs, and which is further robust in design for long term use in a variety of vehicles, including, SUVs, sedans, coupes and sports cars. There also remains a need for a CHMSL design which reduces design and tooling costs, and which further meets automotive fit and tolerance requirements for such components.